Sir Patrick MacChombaich de Colquhoun ( ; 13 April 1815 – 18 May 1891) was a British diplomat, legal writer and

sculler Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, i ...

who influenced early Cambridge

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

. Colquhoun was the son of James Colquhoun and the grandson of the

Patrick Colquhoun Patrick Colquhoun ( ; 14 March 1745 – 25 April 1820) was a Scottish merchant, statistician, magistrate, and founder of the first regular preventive police force in England, the Thames River Police. He also served as Lord Provost of Glasgow ...

who was

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...

. He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

and St John's College, Cambridge. In 1837 he won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the S ...

and in the same year instituted the Colquhoun Sculls at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. From 1840 to 1844, Colquhoun was

Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...

of the Hanse Towns at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, Persia and Greece, through his father's connections. In Constantinople he was close friends with James Redhouse. He encountered the author

George Borrow George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...

on his travels and was not impressed. He then returned to England and joined the Home Circuit. He was well respected in the literary world and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1845.

Charles Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensi ...

wrote ''Who that knows London knoweth not Sir Patrick Colquhoun? I made his acquaintance in 1848, when, coming over from student-life in Paris''. He was also a noted linguist. From 1857 to 1866, he was Aulic Counsellor to the King of Saxony and standing Counsel to the Saxon Legation. He was then member of the Supreme Court of Justice in Corfu from 1858 to 1861. In 1861, when he was

Chief Justice of the Ionian Islands The United States of the Ionian Islands ( el, Ἡνωμένον Κράτος τῶν Ἰονίων Νήσων, Inoménon-Krátos ton Ioníon Níson, United State of the Ionian Islands; it, Stati Uniti delle Isole Ionie) was a Greek state and am ...

, he was knighted on 14 November. Colquhoun became

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1868 and a bencher of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1869. Colquhoun died at 2 King's Bench Walk at the age of 76. He was a member of the

Order of the Temple , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

and associated with fringe Freemasonry. Colquhoun married Katherine de St Vitalis. Their daughter married Sir James Redhouse.

Publications

* ''A Summary of the Roman Civil Laws'' 1849 * ''Russian Despotism and Ruthlessness: As disclosed in authentic documents'' 1877 * ''A Concise History of the Order of the Temple'' 1878

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

A. F. Pollard Albert Frederick Pollard, FBA (16 December 1869 – 3 August 1948) was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Life and career Pollard was born in Ryde o ...

, ''Colquhoun, Sir Patrick Macchombaich (1815–1891)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Colquhoun, Patrick 1815 births 1891 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge English male rowers Presidents of the Royal Society of Literature